Savina Monastery

Savina stands on a terrace above the sea at the eastern edge of Herceg Novi, a monastery whose oldest church dates from the fourteenth or fifteenth century, with a larger Baroque church of the 1770s built beside it by a mason from the Bay of Kotor. Its treasury holds one of the richer collections of manuscripts, icons and church silver in the region, including a fourteenth-century Gospel and a crystal cross said to have belonged to Saint Sava.

What you actually see

• The Great Church - the 1770s Baroque church built by a Bay of Kotor mason.
• The Small Church - the older church with fragments of medieval fresco.
• The treasury - manuscripts, icons and silver including a fourteenth-century Gospel.
• The terraced gardens - the cypress and olive terraces above the sea.

When to go

Year round; it is open in daylight outside services. Mornings are quietest. The treasury has restricted hours and may need asking.

Honest expectations

The treasury is not always open and access can depend on a monk being available. Dress rules are enforced. Photography inside the churches is restricted.

Nearby

Herceg Novi is west, and Risan is east.